Winter 2020 First Impressions – Somali and the Forest Spirit, Asteroid in Love, and Darwin’s Game

Oh yes, it’s that time again – time for new anime to debut and impress all of us anime fans! Despite forgetting to write about my most anticipated series until the last minute as usual, believe me when I say I’m usually pretty on top of what’s being released; my excitement exists even if that’s not always evident from what’s written here. Now that a couple of series have popped onto their various streaming services, it’s time to dive in and get excited.

Of course, there are just a few book keeping items to get out of the way, especially if you’re a new reader. These impressions are just that – impressions of first episodes, and not meant to be reviews of entire series. That said, I believe anime generally try to put their best foot forward early on, so if there are troubling things present in episode 1 (for me, that generally means overt sexism, racism, gratuitous violence, or other various content markers that tend to indicate stories that I’d find insulting in some way) I certainly want to mention that, and will be less likely to want to watch more of the series. And before anyone says anything about it – yes, I always end up with more than enough series to fill up my time, and don’t consider myself overly picky in any respect.

In any case, on to the new anime!

Somali and the Forest Spirit

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Golems exist to guard and protect their forests, and it’s their nature not to interfere in the workings of the food chain. But one day a particular golem happens to find a human child, dirty and huddled in the hollow of an old tree. The child is immediately drawn to the golem and calls him “dad.” Though the golem cannot experience human emotion, on some level a bond is formed between them.

Many generations ago, humans first ventured into the realms of the beast people. Though their first interactions were fruitful, eventually the humans insulted the beasts and became their targets. Nowadays humans are nearly extinct. The Golem and his surrogate child, named Somali, are in search of humans with whom Somali can live but their quest seems hopeless; there are few humans left, and many of the beast people would probably eat them if they knew where to find them. Still, their journey continues, as does the Golem’s and Somali’s quest to understand one-another.

Impressions: This was one of my most anticipated series this season, as I really love stories about parenthood in all its forms (unless it goes full Bunny Drop manga, that is). It was a pleasant surprise that Crunchyroll offered the series up a full week before its Japanese broadcast (they’re a member of the production committee, which works out well for us!). Though the episode itself is rather subdued (some might go so far as to say “nothing really happens”), I really appreciated the overall gentle tone of the story so far. While the human situation is tragic, the narrative knows not to dwell on it for longer than needed, and most of the episode is Somali being a cute kid and Golem not entirely sure how to handle her rambunctiousness (but trying in his own way through logic and analysis). It’s a fantasy more about setting and atmosphere than outright adventure, which is certainly fine with me.

Speaking of setting, the backdrops and environments are certainly their own character in this series. The environment is populated by odd animals and colorful, otherworldly plant-life, and the texture of the background artwork looks soft and painterly despite being digital. The beast characters come in every shape and size, too; I think my favorite of the ones who get some screen time was the moth-man waiter at the tavern, although there were certainly interesting creatures to spare ambling throughout the bustling town featured in the episode. If nothing else, this episode is definitely a treat for the eyes.

The real core of the episode, though, is the relationship between its two leads. I see within it something of a thesis statement – that being unable to understand someone doesn’t preclude a person from caring about them. Emotionless characters are always interesting to me because their natural state of being is so different from my own. Much like the aliens in “A Wrinkle in Time” who don’t have a sense of sight, I feel driven to understand what that sort of existence might be like. The Golem states that he doesn’t have or understand emotions, but he does have skills in observation and the ability to analyze and learn from situations, which allows him to be the father figure that Somali insists that he is. I think that’s a powerful statement to make.

My only real misgiving is that I suspect there might be sad things to come on the horizon. I don’t mind sad stories, but sad stories involving kids and loss are always kind of tough for me to navigate. I hope that the series is able to uphold the gravity of those emotions and experiences as the characters experience them while maintaining the sense of wonder it creates in this episode.

Pros: Charming relationship between the two main characters. Bright, colorful visual design.

Cons: The story seems left open for bad things to happen (not necessarily a con for everyone).

Content Warnings: References to humans being killed for food. Child in minor peril.

Grade: B

Asteroid in Love

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: When Mira was little, she met a boy named Ao who got her interested in astronomy. Now in high school she hopes to join the astronomy club – only the club has apparently been recently disbanded. As it turns out, the geology and astronomy clubs have been combined into the Earth Sciences club for various reasons, and the joint club is only just getting on its feet in the current school year.

It’s been Mira’s dream to help fulfill Ao’s dream of discovering an asteroid, and as it so happens she won’t have much trouble reconnecting with Ao to do so. The person she previously assumed was a boy was actually a tomboyish girl, who now happens to be her club-mate! While the newly-established Earth Sciences Club still has some kinks to work out, Mira and Ao have the opportunity to rekindle their friendship (possibly more) and to look up at the stars together.

Impressions: Space, the final frontier… it’s almost certain that humans have been gazing toward the heavens since prehistory. Even in modern times, space holds a certain allure for many people. Since almost every form of geekery has been plumbed for anime-related content at some point, so it goes that astronomy should get its turn in the spotlight (or moonlight, I guess?). Despite the nominal discussion of planets, stars, and other heavenly bodies, though, this series seems more focused on the latent friendly-and-possibly (probably)-romantic feelings between its two main characters. That’s not really a bad thing, but it’s a different angle than some viewers might be expecting (I at least, was slightly caught off-guard).

The budding (or possibly residual) feelings that Mira and Ao have for one-another seem to be pretty chaste, which thankfully seems to have hit me the right way at this point in time. As much as I enjoy it when romantic anime series cut to the chase (believe me, I can get pretty annoyed when the only thing preventing two characters from getting together is their own inability to say two useful words to one-another), there’s also something to be said for the kind of hand-holding, blushing pure-love relationships that get drawn out across many episodes (I was a big fan of Kimi ni Todoke, after all). It’s a balance very few shows are able to maintain for too long, but at just one episode, this one hasn’t had the chance to wear out its welcome – it’s still more “d’aww” than “dang it!”

Aside from that, this episode follows all the beats of a typical “cute girls doing cute things” formula, including the awkward school club situation, the blending of various different-but-appealing personality types, and even the club advisor who’s almost like another kid in the group. It’s not the type of series that seems to want to take any big chances. Even though there are some great moments of character acting throughout the episodes (it’s the type of animation that’s much easier to notice in such a low-key series like this one), its real goal is seemingly to do what these types of series do best – be inoffensive, comforting, and not challenging to the audience in any major way. I can enjoy anime series like this once-in-a-while, but for those who are looking for a more substantial story or something that might truly challenge gender relationship norms (it’s clearly Yuri-focused, but in a passive rather than active form at least for now), or which seriously focuses on astronomy, it would probably be worth looking elsewhere.

Pros: The two main characters are cute together and have a nice dynamic. There’s some good character acting.

Cons: The episode is not as astronomy-focused as the title might suggest. Feels somewhat lacking in substance.

Content Warnings: None.

Grade: B-

Darwin’s Game

Streaming: Funimation, Crunchyroll and HIDIVE (Crunchyroll and HIDIVE start their streaming broadcast on February 2nd)

Episodes: 11

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Note: The first episode is a double episode. I will try to keep the summary as concise as possible.

Kaname Sudo is an average high school guy whose life is changed forever once he clicks on a missing classmate’s final text message and accidentally enrolls himself in an app called “Darwin’s Game.” He doesn’t understand the full implication of this until a match starts and he finds himself facing off against an enraged, violent incarnation of his city’s baseball mascot. With the help of a classmate who clearly knows more about the game than him, as well as the blessing of some dumb luck, Kaname defeats his opponent. However, his classmate’s wounds ensure that his death soon follows. It’s then that Kaname discovers the source of the horrifying body-shaped marks that have begun to appear throughout the city, and how they are certainly not some strange art installation as the public suspects.

After preparing some weaponry for himself in anticipation of another match, Kaname responds to a text from a mystery opponent in the game. Drawn into a warehouse (which might very well be a trap), he meets a young woman dressed in red. She offers information in exchange for insight into Kaname’s sigil, a special power that participants in the game have. He doesn’t seem to have one (or doesn’t know what it is), so the young woman acts to protect herself. In this time of stress, Kaname wishes for the handgun he left at home, and suddenly it appears in his hand. His sigil seems to be the ability to conjure what is most useful to him in the moment – a powerful ability indeed. Seeing that she’s met her match, the young woman surrenders and becomes indebted to Kaname, thus ending the game without either of their deaths. When Kaname wakes up two days later, he finds that he may have gained more than just an ally in this young woman.

Impressions: Twenty years ago, the Japanese novel “Battle Royale” and its subsequent manga and film adaptations introduced the concept of a fight-to-the-death as symbolic of the cutthroat nature of the Japanese school system. Much like any shocking subject matter, there’s been much discussion in the ensuing years about whether the violent, brutal presentation of the material was truly necessary in order to make its point, or whether it’s simply gratuitous and crass, but needless to say the premise has clearly remained in the creative and public consciousness for many years now. Much like any media that achieves notoriety due to shock value, it’s also spawned a lot of copycats, most of which choose to ape the violence without having anything of value to say about it.

Darwin’s Game seems to be the latest in this string of misanthropic power fantasies, thrusting its every-man protagonist into a corner, torturing him with bodily injury and forcing him to witness the deaths of those around him, then revealing him as uniquely overpowered, thus giving him the opportunity to take out his revenge on whatever other psychopaths cross his path. The second half of the first episode sees him face off against Shuka, a young woman clad in red who’s clearly powerful and has been enjoying the type of carnage required of this sick game. However, by the end of the episode she’s enslaved herself to Kaname and transformed into some sort of nude, mewling sex object with her face buried in his crotch, suggesting that they should grow their family together (ugh). I guess she just needed a big strong man to set her straight. Yikes.

There’s an attempt to make this double-length episode feel cinematic through various lighting and compositing techniques which is somewhat effective, but one major issue with the visuals reveals itself almost right away – there’s a major consistency problem when it comes to the characters’ faces. It gets so bad at point that, while it’s clear who the characters are, some of them look like completely different people from scene-to-scene. Thank goodness for silly anime hair.

I think series like this can be cathartic for some viewers; I know I have those moments where I wish I could say the things I really want to say to people who don’t really care about me one way or the other and being able to live vicariously through a character who gets to do those things can certainly relieve some tension. For me, though, there’s definitely a limit to what bad behavior I’m willing to stand by and watch, and if the point of it all isn’t in service to something greater then I’m just not interested.

Pros: The act of watching characters get their revenge can be cathartic.

Cons: Another in a string of “Battle Royale” copycats that doesn’t appear to have much to say. Some very noticeable visual inconsistencies.

Content Warnings: Violence (Knife, crossbow, handgun violence), decapitation (partly censored), dismembered body parts (somewhat censored), blood, some nudity (brief, seen from behind).

Grade: C-